Best of
Fiction

1896

The Complete Short Novels


Anton Chekhov - 1896
    Here, brought together in one volume for the first time, in a masterly new translation by the award-winning translators Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky.The Steppe—the most lyrical of the five—is an account of a nine-year-old boy’s frightening journey by wagon train across the steppe of southern Russia. The Duel sets two decadent figures—a fanatical rationalist and a man of literary sensibility—on a collision course that ends in a series of surprising reversals. In The Story of an Unknown Man, a political radical spying on an important official by serving as valet to his son gradually discovers that his own terminal illness has changed his long-held priorities in startling ways. Three Years recounts a complex series of ironies in the personal life of a rich but passive Moscow merchant. In My Life, a man renounces wealth and social position for a life of manual labor.The resulting conflict between the moral simplicity of his ideals and the complex realities of human nature culminates in a brief apocalyptic vision that is unique in Chekhov’s work.(Book Jacket Status: Jacketed) From the Hardcover edition.

Teddy's Button


Amy Le Feuvre - 1896
    As a stubborn boy and girl refuse to back down from their selfish pride, one of the many lessons they learn is that they cannot win battles by force and hate, but by carrying the banner of love. Through this charming story, Amy Lefeuvre helps children to understand the spiritual battle that rages in their soul, and that parents and children are on the same side.

Quo Vadis


Henryk Sienkiewicz - 1896
    This radiant translation by W.S. Kuniczak restores the original glory and richness of master storyteller Henryk Sienkiewicz's epic tale.Set at a turning point in history (A.D. 54-68), as Christianity replaces the era of corruption and immorality that marked Nero's Rome, Quo Vadis abounds with compelling characters, including:Vinicius, the proud centurion who has fallen deeply in love with a mysterious young woman who disappears the night they meet;Ligia, the elusive beauty. Vinicius will not easily win her love, for she is a Christian, one of the group of dedicated believers led by the apostle Peter. Christians are rare in pagan, hedonistic Rome, and suffer great persecution;Petronius, uncle to Vinicius, an elegant, witty courtier who scoffs at love and religion but finds his nephew's passion charming; andNero himself, enemy of all Christians, a despotic emperor who plunges Rome deeper and deeper into depravity. The decadence of his banquets is staggering; and even worse, his mad laughter is heard echoing in the amphitheater as gladiators duel to the death.As Nero's appalling plans for the Christians become ever clearer, time appears to be running out for the young lovers. Vinicius must come to understand the true meaning of Ligia's religion before it is too late.Grand in scope and ambition, Quo Vadis explores the themes of love, desire and profound moral courage. Lavish descriptions, vivid dialogue and brilliantly drawn characters make this one of the world's greatest epics. Beloved by children and adults the world over, Quo Vadis has been the subject of five films, two of them in English.

Joan of Arc


Mark Twain - 1896
    And besides, it furnished me seven times the pleasure afforded me by any of the others; twelve years of preparation, and two years of writing. The others needed no preparation and got none." --Mark Twain

Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc


Mark Twain - 1896
    1 of 2 To Arrive at a just estimate of a renowned man's character one must judge it by the standards of his time, not ours. Judged by the standards of one century, the noblest characters of an earlier one lose much of their luster; judged by the standards of to-day, there is probably no illustrious man of four or five centuries ago whose character could meet the test at all points. But the character of Joan of Arc is unique. It can be measured by the standards of all times without misgiving or apprehension as to the result. Judged by any of them, judged by all of them, it is still flawless, it is still ideally perfect; it still occupies the loftiest place possible to human attainment, a loftier one than has been reached by any other mere mortal. When we reflect that her century was the brutalest, the wickedest, the rottenest in history since the darkest ages, we are lost in wonder at the miracle of such a product from such a soil. The contrast between her and her century is the contrast between day and night.This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

The Exploits and Adventures of Brigadier Gerard


Arthur Conan Doyle - 1896
    Brigadier Gerard is an officer in Napoleon's army—recklessly brave, engagingly openhearted, and unshakable, if not a little absurd, in his devotion to the enigmatic Emperor. The Brigadier's wonderful comic adventures, long established in the affections of Conan Doyle's admirers as second only to those of the incomparable Holmes, are sure to find new devotees among the ardent fans of such writers as Patrick O'Brian and George MacDonald Fraser.

The Adventures of Mabel


Harry Thurston Peck - 1896
    The cottage was away out beyond the village and near a large wood. The trees in the wood were great tall trees... (from the front flap)

The Figure in the Carpet and Other Stories


Henry James - 1896
    The motif and title story, ‘The Figure in the Carpet’, is an inspired joke, a masterpiece of double-entendre that demands the reader’s undivided love and attention and continues to baffle its critics. Also included are ‘The Author of Beltraffio’, an absorbing story of family infighting, authorship and tragedy, and ‘The Private Life’, a spirited tale that considers the contrast between the artist alone and at work. While many of these stories appear to be elaborate Jamesian games, all employ irony and humour to allegorize artistic creation.The Author of Betraffio --The Lesson of the Master --The Private Life --The Middle Years --The Death of the Lion --The Next Time --The Figure in the Carpet --John Delavoy.

The Ebbing Of The Tide South Sea Stories


Louis Becke - 1896
    You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery.

Hugh Wynne, Free Quaker


S. Weir Mitchell - 1896
    A descendant of a long line of Welsh squires, Hugh Wynne is a Quaker who possesses a firm loyal character. He is the narrator of the story, supplementing it with extracts from the diary of his friend, Jack Warder. When a Tory cousin, Captain Arthur Wynne, insulted his mother, Hugh knocked him down and precipitated a bitter feud. The course of the Revolution is followed with descriptions of the Meschianza Ball given in honor of General William Howe, the siege of Yorktown, Andre's execution, and the Battle of Germantown, during which Hugh is taken prisoner. S. Weir Mitchell (1829-1914) was a prominent 19th Century Philadelphia physician, novelist and poet. Of this colonial history novel Mitchell wrote, "Of course Hugh Wynne is regarded as the book which is likely to have any continuous life." Mitchell was well known during his lifetime as a nerve specialist who advocated a rest cure that incorporated overfeeding and no interruptions from outside the family. Among his most famous patients was the feminist theorist, socialist and suffragist Charlotte Perkins Gilman who wrote The Yellow Wallpaper about a woman driven mad by her husband who followed Mithcell's type of absolute bed rest and isolation from the stimulus of the outside world.The story of the "sometime brevet lieutenant-colonel on the staff of the excellent General Washington." . The memoirs of Hugh Wynne, lieutenant colonel on the staff of General George WashingtonS. Weir Mitchell, whose first writings were papers and popular books on science, wrote poetry, short stories, novelettes, and several other novels. The most popular was Roland Blake (1886), a story of the Civil War. "the tale of an arduous struggle by a new land against a great empire - the story of many sad spiritual struggles, or much heart-searching distress, of brave decisions, and of battle and of camp."

Gaston de LaTour


Walter Pater - 1896
    The author of works critical to the formation of the Transition and Modernist periods set his last novel in the turbulent years following the Reformation. Selected chapters first appeared serially in Macmillan's Magazine and the Fortnightly Review, but the posthumous volume edited by Charles L. Shadwell, Pater's long-time friend, remains controversial. For a century readers have seen only a portion of what Pater wrote for Gaston de Latour. Shadwell withheld six manuscript chapters. Pater's prominence and widening influence in late-nineteenth and early twentieth-century studies makes those missing chapters more intriguing than ever. ELT Press is pleased to publish this long-awaited new edition Gaston de Latour: The Revised Text. Edited from the holographs and based on definitive material incorporating all known fragments, The Revised Text includes the crucial suppressed chapters.

Dr. Rumsey's Patient: A Very Strange Story


L.T. Meade - 1896
    Rumsey's Patient: A Very Strange Story:"Frere did not reply, but strode quickly down the village street. A dozen strides brought him up to Hetty's side. She was a beautiful girl, with a face and figure much above her station. Her hat was covered with wild flowers which she had picked in her walk, and coquettishly placed there. She wore a pink dress covered with rosebuds - some wild flowers were stuck into her belt. As Frere advanced to meet her, her laughing eyes were raised to his face - there was a curious mixture of timidity and audacity in their glance..."

Dwell Deep


Amy Le Feuvre - 1896
    Quality assurance was conducted on each of these books in an attempt to remove books with imperfections introduced by the digitization process. Though we have made best efforts - the books may have occasional errors that do not impede the reading experience. We believe this work is culturally important and have elected to bring the book back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide.

Artie: A Story of the Streets and Town


George Ade - 1896
    Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions that are true to the original work.